Mesenchymal stem cells are enriched in head neck squamous cell carcinoma, correlates with tumour size and inhibit T-cell proliferation

BACKGROUND: Cancer is a multifactorial disease not only restricted to transformed epithelium, but also involving cells of the immune system and cells of mesenchymal origin, particularly mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Mesenchymal stem cells contribute to blood- and lymph- neoangiogenesis, generate myofibroblasts, with pro-invasive activity and may suppress anti-tumour immunity. METHODS: In this paper, we evaluated the presence and features of MSCs isolated from human head neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). RESULTS: Fresh specimens of HNSCC showed higher proportions of CD90+ cells compared with normal tissue; these cells co-expressed CD29, CD105, and CD73, but not CD31, CD45, CD133, and human epithelial antigen similarly to bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs). Adherent stromal cells isolated from tumour shared also differentiation potential with BM-MSCs, thus we named them as tumour-MSCs. Interestingly, tumour-MSCs showed a clear immunosuppressive activity on in vitro stimulated T lymphocytes, mainly mediated by indoelamine 2,3 dioxygenase activity, like BM-MSCs. To evaluate their possible role in tumour growth in vivo, we correlated tumour-MSC proportions with neoplasm size. Tumour-MSCs frequency directly correlated with tumour volume and inversely with the frequency of tumour-infiltrating leukocytes. CONCLUSIONS: These data support the concept that tumour-MSCs may favour tumour growth not only through their effect on stromal development, but also by inhibiting the anti-tumour immune response

Human interleukin 17–producing cells originate from a CD161+CD4+ T cell precursor

We demonstrate that CD161 is a highly up-regulated gene in human interleukin (IL) 17 T helper cell (Th17) clones and that all IL-17–producing cells are contained in the CD161+ fraction of CD4+ T cells present in the circulation or in inflamed tissues, although they are not CD1-restricted natural killer T cells. More importantly, we show that all IL-17–producing cells originate from CD161+ naive CD4+ T cells of umbilical cord blood, as well as of the postnatal thymus, in response to the combined activity of IL-1β and IL-23. These findings implicate CD161 as a novel surface marker for human Th17 cells and demonstrate the exclusive origin of these cells from a CD161+CD4+ T cell progenitor

Sigh in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome: the PROTECTION pilot randomized clinical trial

Background: Sigh is a cyclic brief recruitment manoeuvre: previous physiological studies showed that its use could be an interesting addition to pressure support ventilation to improve lung elastance, decrease regional heterogeneity and increase release of surfactant. Research question: Is the clinical application of sigh during pressure support ventilation (PSV) feasible? Study design and methods: We conducted a multi-center non-inferiority randomized clinical trial on adult intubated patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure or acute respiratory distress syndrome undergoing PSV. Patients were randomized to the No Sigh group and treated by PSV alone, or to the Sigh group, treated by PSV plus sigh (increase of airway pressure to 30 cmH2Ofor 3 seconds once per minute) until day 28 or death or successful spontaneous breathing trial. The primary endpoint of the study was feasibility, assessed as non-inferiority (5% tolerance) in the proportion of patients failing assisted ventilation. Secondary outcomes included safety, physiological parameters in the first week from randomization, 28-day mortality and ventilator-free days. Results: Two-hundred fifty-eight patients (31% women; median age 65 [54-75] years) were enrolled. In the Sigh group, 23% of patients failed to remain on assisted ventilation vs. 30% in the No Sigh group (absolute difference -7%, 95%CI -18% to 4%; p=0.015 for non-inferiority). Adverse events occurred in 12% vs. 13% in Sigh vs. No Sigh (p=0.852). Oxygenation was improved while tidal volume, respiratory rate and corrected minute ventilation were lower over the first 7 days from randomization in Sigh vs. No Sigh. There was no significant difference in terms of mortality (16% vs. 21%, p=0.342) and ventilator-free days (22 [7-26] vs. 22 [3-25] days, p=0.300) for Sigh vs. No Sigh. Interpretation: Among hypoxemic intubated ICU patients, application of sigh was feasible and without increased risk

Interfacing an ion funnel into laser ablation time of flight mass spectrometry

In the present work the development and characterization of a novel laser ablation ion source for element mass spectrometry is presented. The concept of Laser Ablation Mass Spectrometry (LAMS) was introduced in the 60s by Honig and Woolston. The at that time presented method showed a strong matrix dependence of the ion yields which made the use of LAMS for quantitative analyses challenging. A major reason for this can be attributed to the nanosecond (ns) lasers pulses used for ablation in high vacuum. In this work, a novel strategy is presented, using laser ablation at elevated pressure in Combination with differential pumping via a convergent divergent (CD) nozzle and an RF only ion funnel to transfer the ions to the mass spectrometer. The CD- nozzle and RF only ion funnel achieve an efficient collisional cooling of laser generated ions and their separation From the buffer gas. This configuration ensures a sufficient pressure difference between ion source (up to 100 mbar) and the mass spectrometer (10E−6 mbar) while allowing for multiple collisions

Asset Encumbrance e rischio sistemico: il ruolo delle attivit\ue0 vincolate nei bilanci delle banche

Il paper esamina gli effetti prodotti da un elevato livello di asset encumbrance (Ae) sul contributo delle banche al rischio sistemico, misurato dall\u2019indice Srisk. Si considera un panel di 45 banche europee quotate, osservate nel periodo 2014-2017. I risultati empirici dell\u2019analisi mostrano l\u2019esistenza di una relazione inversa tra Ae e Srisk. Prevalgono quindi, in linea generale, gli effetti benefici di un\u2019alta quota di asset vincolati. Tuttavia, se un elevato livello di Ae si accompagna a un alto grado di indebitamento o a un elevato Roe della banca, l\u2019impatto sul rischio sistemico risulta negativo. Una particolare attenzione da parte delle Autorit\ue0 di vigilanza dovrebbe essere quindi rivolta alle situazioni di crescente encumbrance nelle banche a bassa capitalizzazione, condizione in grado di impattare sia sul leverage che sul Roe, con conseguente forte effetto di moderazione nella relazione tra Ae e Srisk

Ultrasound-guided thoracic paravertebral block for closed loop ileostomy repair in severe COPD: a case report

Background and objectives: Ultrasound-guided thoracic paravertebral block is usually considered a good alternative to epidural thoracic for anesthesia and pain control in thoracic and breast surgery. Furthermore it has also been used during abdominal surgery lately, especially hepatic and renal surgery. However, its role is poorly defined in this context. The purpose of this report was to highlight the role of thoracic paravertebral block in providing effective anesthesia and analgesia during both the abdominal surgical intervention and pain control in post-operative period, avoiding possible complications which general anesthesia may arise, which are fairly common in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and similar comorbidities. Case report: The authors present a case of abdominal surgery successfully performed on a woman affected by severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease requiring closed loop ileostomy repair performed with ultrasound guided thoracic paravertebral block without any complications. Conclusions: Thoracic paravertebral block may be a safe anesthetic method for abdominal surgery in those patients who would undergo potential severe complications by using general anesthesia. Resumo: Justificativa e objetivos: O bloqueio paravertebral torácico guiado por ultrassom é geralmente considerado uma boa alternativa à anestesia peridural torácica para o controle da dor em cirurgia torácica e mamária. Além disso, ultimamente o bloqueio paravertebral torácico tem sido usado durante cirurgias abdominais, especialmente hepática e renal. No entanto, seu papel está mal definido nesse contexto. O objetivo deste relato foi destacar o papel do bloqueio paravertebral torácico em fornecer anestesia e analgesia efetiva tanto na intervenção cirúrgica abdominal quanto no controle da dor pós-operatória, evitando as possíveis complicações que podem surgir da anestesia geral, bastante comuns em pacientes com doença pulmonar obstrutiva crônica e comorbidades similares. Relato de caso: Apresentamos um caso de cirurgia abdominal realizada com sucesso em uma mulher com doença pulmonar obstrutiva crônica grave que precisou de correção de ileostomia em alça, realizada com bloqueio paravertebral torácico guiado por ultrassom sem complicações. Conclusões: O bloqueio paravertebral torácico pode ser um método anestésico seguro para cirurgia abdominal em pacientes que poderiam apresentar complicações possivelmente graves com o uso de anestesia geral. Keywords: Ultrasound-guided TPVB, Abdominal surgery, COPD, Acute pain analgesia, Palavras-chave: TPVB guiado por ultrassom, Cirurgia abdominal, DPOC, Analgesia de dor agud

The Effect of Mineral Dissolution on the Effective Stress Law for Permeability in a Tight Sandstone

We present flow-through experiments to delineate the processes involved in permeability changes driven by effective stress variations and mineral cement dissolution in porous rocks. CO2-enriched brine is injected continuously into a tight sandstone under in situ reservoir conditions for 455 hrs. Due to the dolomite cement dissolution, the bulk permeability of the sandstone specimen significantly increases, and two dissolution passages are identified near the fluid inlet by X-ray CT imaging. Prereaction and postreaction examinations of the effective stress law for permeability suggest that after reaction, the bulk permeability is more sensitive to pore pressure changes and less sensitive to effective stress changes. These observations are corroborated by Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray CT observations. This study deepens our understanding of the effect of mineral dissolution on the effective stress law for permeability, with implications for characterizing subsurface mass and energy transport, particularly during fluid injection/production into/from geologic reservoirs. © 2020 American Geophysical Union.ISSN:0094-8276ISSN:1944-800

Toward a Spatiotemporal Understanding of Dolomite Dissolution in Sandstone by CO2-Enriched Brine Circulation

ISSN:0013-936XISSN:1520-585

1,3,4-Azadiphospholides as building blocks for scorpionate and bidentate ligands in multinuclear complexes

Annulated oxy-substituted 1,3,4-azadiphospholides such as the anion in Na[1] are readily accessible phosphorus heterocycles made from the phosphaethynolate anion (OCP)- and 2-chloropyridines. The sodium salt Na[1] reacts with oxophilic element halides such as OPCl3, PhSiCl3, PhBCl2 and CpTiCl3 at room temperature to form exclusively the oxygen bound tris-substituted compounds E(1)3 (with E = OP, PhSi, PhB- or CpTi). Six equivalents of Na[1] with group four metal chlorides MCl4 (M = Ti, Zr, Hf) form cleanly the hexa-substituted dianions (Na2[M(1)6]) which are isolated in excellent yields. The titanium complexes are deeply coloured species due to ligand to metal charge transfer (LMCT) excitations. In all complexes, the phosphorus atoms of the azadiphosphole moieties are able to coordinate to a soft metal center as shown in their reactions with [Mo(CO)3Mes], yielding complexes in which the Mo(CO)3 binds in a fac manner. Functionalization of the oxy group with amino phosphanes allows isolation of tridentate ligands, which have been used as synthons for macrocyclic molybdenum carbonyl complexes.ISSN:1477-9226ISSN:1477-923

Thermally driven fracture aperture variation in naturally fractured granites

Temperature variations often trigger coupled thermal, hydrological, mechanical, and chemical (THMC) processes that can significantly alter the permeability/impedance of fracture-dominated deep geological reservoirs. It is thus necessary to quantitatively explore the associated phenomena during fracture opening and closure as a result of temperature change. In this work, we report near-field experimental results of the effect of temperature on the hydraulic properties of natural fractures under stressed conditions (effective normal stresses of 5–25 MPa). Two specimens of naturally fractured granodiorite cores from the Grimsel Test Site in Switzerland were subjected to flow-through experiments with a temperature variation of 25–140 °C to characterize the evolution of fracture aperture/permeability. The fracture surfaces of the studied specimens were morphologically characterized using photogrammetry scanning. Periodic measurements of the efflux of dissolved minerals yield the net removal mass, which is correlated to the inferred rates of fracture closure. Changes measured in hydraulic aperture are significant, exhibiting reductions of 20–75% over the heating/cooling cycles. Under higher confining stresses, the effects in fracture permeability are irreversible and notably time-dependent. Thermally driven fracture aperture variation was more pronounced in the specimen with the largest mean aperture width and spatial correlation length. Gradual fracture compaction is likely controlled by thermal dilation, mechanical grinding, and pressure dissolution due to increased thermal stresses exerted over the contacting asperities, as confirmed by the analyses of hydraulic properties and efflux mass.ISSN:2195-970